Wearable training apparatus, a training system and a training method thereof

ABSTRACT

A wearable training apparatus has a vision-control assembly and a head-mounting assembly coupled to the vision-control assembly. The vision-control assembly has a see-through area corresponding to a central portion of the human field of vision (FOV), and a vision-blocking area for blocking the human peripheral FOV except the central portion thereof. The wearable training apparatus may be in the form of a pair of eyeglasses with lenses provided with reduced FOV or alternatively, may be in the form of a goggle with reduced FOV. A training system may comprise one or more wearable training apparatus, one or more imaging devices for recording images and/or video streams of the performance of users wearing the training apparatuses, and one or more computing devices for playing back and analyzing the recorded images and/or video streams.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/330,757, which is a US national phase application of PCTApplication Serial No. PCT/CA2018/051535 filed on Nov. 30, 2018 andclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/593,362, filed Dec. 1, 2017, the content of each of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to a training apparatus andmethod, and in particular to a wearable training apparatus and atraining method for training a user to maintain constant visual focus ona moving target while physically reacting to the moving target, oralternatively, to maintain constant visual focus on a stationary targetwhile performing controlled physical movements.

BACKGROUND

Many tasks require the practitioners to constantly maintain visual focuson moving target objects. For example, an ice-hockey goalie has tomaintain visual focus on a fast-moving puck while it travels betweenmultiple players during the play in order to successfully guard the net.It always requires significant effort to train a practitioner to learnhow to controllably position their head and body while constantlymaintaining visual focus on a moving target object.

Other tasks require practitioners to constantly maintain visual focus onstationary targets while controllably moving their bodies in referenceto the stationary targets. For example, to successfully execute a golfswing that results in a desired flight of a struck ball, a golfer mustmaintain constant visual focus on the golf ball while controllablyrotating their torso and hips coupled with coordinated arm movementsduring their back swing, and then maintaining the same constant visualfocus when the direction of rotation and arm movements are reversed tostrike the ball.

SUMMARY

Embodiments herein disclose a wearable training apparatus, a trainingsystem and related method for training a user to maintain constantvisual focus on a moving or stationary target object for optimizing theuser's physical performance in executing controlled and coordinated bodymovements in reference to the target object.

In some embodiments, the wearable training apparatus is in the form of apair of eyeglasses or wearable goggles with a see-through areacorresponding to a central portion of the field of vision (FOV) of humaneyes.

In some embodiments, the wearable training apparatus comprises avision-control assembly coupled to a head-mounting assembly. Thevision-control assembly comprises a see-through area for allowinglimited eye vision within a central portion of the user's FOV whileconcurrently blocking the user's peripheral vision. The head-mountingassembly comprises a mounting structure for mounting the wearabletraining apparatus onto the user's head.

In some embodiments, the vision-control assembly comprises a lens frameand one or two lens elements secured in the lens frame. The lens framecomprises a rearwardly extending sidewall about the one or two lenselements for blocking a peripheral portion of the human FOV. Each of theone or two lens elements comprises a transparent or see-through region,and the union of the one or two see-through regions form a see-througharea configured for limiting a user's FOV to a reduced FOV thatcorresponds to a central portion of the human FOV, and an opaque areafor blocking a peripheral portion of the user's FOV. Therefore, thetraining apparatus only allows see-through vision within the see-througharea, and can force a user to maintain visual contact with a moving orstationary target object only within the central portion of the humanFOV.

In some embodiments, the opaque area blocks at least a peripheralportion of the human FOV below the see-through area.

In some embodiments, the reduced FOV formed by the see-through areacorresponds to a central portion of the human FOV about a gaze directionthereof.

In some embodiments, the reduced FOV formed by the see-through areaencompasses at least a major portion of a natural binocular vision-areaof the human FOV.

In some embodiments, the reduced FOV formed by the see-through areacomprises a binocular vision-area encompassing at least a major portionof a natural area-of-focus of the human FOV.

In some embodiments, a training system may comprise one or more wearabletraining apparatuses as described above, and one or more imaging devicesfunctionally coupled to one or more computing devices via one or moresuitable wired or wireless connections. A user may wear a wearabletraining apparatus and practice a task such as playing golf or hockey ora racquet sport and the like. The imaging devices record images and/orvideo streams of the user in practice, and send the recorded imagesand/or video streams to the computing devices for playback and/oranalysis.

The wearable training apparatus, training systems and related trainingmethods disclosed herein may be used by various trainers such as programdirectors, coaches, and the like for training high-performance athletes,organized competitive amateur sports program practitioners,institutional sports program practitioners, recreational sportspractitioners, workers, air traffic controllers, crane operators, heavyequipment operators, police officers, soldiers, military personnel, andthe like, who require precise eye/hand/body coordinated decisions andmovements and/or dexterity.

The wearable training apparatus, training systems and related trainingmethods disclosed herein are suitable for training in any sports thatrequire constant and focused visual tracking of moving or stationaryobjects while continuously executing physically coordinated reactions tothe moving objects, for example such as in hockey, tennis, and golf. Thewearable training apparatus, training systems, and related trainingmethods disclosed herein are beneficial to both trainees and trainers.Athlete safety and workplace safety will improve as the trainees willlearn how to reliably and reproducibly optimize their performance inphysically responding to moving objects, thereby reducing risks ofaccidents and injuries.

By using the wearable training apparatus, training systems, and relatedtraining methods disclosed herein, recreational sports practitioners maysee improved quality of life as their performance and skill levels willimprove, for example by increasing skilled execution of contactingmoving targets or stationary targets while executing controlled bodymovements. Teams using the herein-disclosed apparatus, systems andmethods may improve their chances of winning their games.

By using the herein-disclosed apparatus, system, and method,high-performance athletes may achieve their optimum performance levelsand have a better chance of being top performers in their sports areas.

The herein-disclosed apparatus, systems, and methods may also facilitatethe rehabilitation of core muscles. By using the herein-disclosedapparatus, systems and methods, patients may learn to properly aligntheir bodies in a stable position when given movement tasks duringrehabilitation. An example may be any rehabilitation from a torso injury(such as hip/knee/shoulder/hernia injuries). The herein-disclosedapparatus, systems and methods can increase a patient's ability toregain motion by supporting their core area with minimal impacts toinjured areas.

The herein-disclosed apparatus, systems and methods may also benefitbrain injury patients as they retrain their bodies to move in acontrolled manner.

The herein-disclosed apparatus, systems and methods may also be used intreating motion-related disorders.

By using the herein-disclosed apparatus, systems and methods, users mayimprove their sports performance and consequently improve their healthand wellbeing, their social networks, and their sense of socialconnection.

According to one aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a wearabletraining apparatus. The wearable training apparatus comprises avision-control assembly configured for coupling to a user's face aboutthe user's eyes, said vision-control assembly comprising an opaquematerial and a see-through area surrounded by the opaque material atleast on a temporal side, a nasal side, and an inferior side thereof.The opaque material is configured for substantially blocking the user'sentire vision except at the see-through area; the see-through area isconfigured for forming a reduced field of vision (FOV) about a gazedirection; and the reduced FOV has a horizontal span encompassing atleast a major portion of a natural binocular vision-area of the naturalFOV of human eyes, said natural binocular vision-area being at theangular center of the natural FOV of human eyes.

In some embodiments, the horizontal span of the reduced FOV encompassesthe entire natural binocular vision-area of the natural FOV of humaneyes.

In some embodiments, the horizontal span of the reduced FOV furtherencompasses a minor portion of natural monocular vision-areas of thenatural FOV of human eyes, said natural monocular vision-areas beingperipheral to the natural binocular vision-area on respectively temporalsides.

In some embodiments, the horizontal span of the reduced FOV is about120° with about 60° on each temporal side.

In some embodiments, the horizontal span of the reduced FOV is about 60°with about 30° on each temporal side.

In some embodiments, the horizontal span of the reduced FOV is about 80°to about 100° with about 40° to about 50° on each temporal side.

In some embodiments, the horizontal span of the reduced FOV is about100° to about 140° with about 50° to about 70° on each temporal side.

In some embodiments, the horizontal span of the reduced FOV is about110° to about 130° with about 55° to about 65° on each temporal side.

In some embodiments, the horizontal span of the reduced FOV comprises anadjusted binocular vision-area substantially encompassing a horizontalarea-of-focus of the natural FOV of human eyes.

In some embodiments, the adjusted binocular vision-area has a horizontalspan of about 40° to about 60° with about 20° to 30° on each temporalside.

In some embodiments, the adjusted binocular vision-area has a horizontalspan of at least about 60° with at least about 30° on each temporalside.

In some embodiments, the adjusted binocular vision-area has a horizontalspan of about 100° with about 50° on each temporal side.

In some embodiments, the adjusted binocular vision-area has a horizontalspan about the same as that of the reduced FOV.

In some embodiments, the reduced FOV has a vertical span encompassing atleast a major portion of a vertical area-of-focus of the natural FOV ofhuman eyes.

In some embodiments, the vertical span of the reduced FOV is about 35°to about 75° with a superior span of about 15° to about 35° and aninferior span of about 20° to about 40°.

In some embodiments, the vertical span of the reduced FOV is about 55°with a superior span of about 25° and an inferior span of about 30°.

In some embodiments, the vertical span of the reduced FOV is about 35°to about 75° with a superior span of about 15° to about 35° and aninferior span of about 20° to about 40°.

In some embodiments, the vertical span of the reduced FOV is about 80°to about 100° with a superior span of about 60° and an inferior span ofabout 20° to about 40°.

In some embodiments, the vertical span of the reduced FOV is about 90°with a superior span of about 60° and an inferior span of about 30°.

In some embodiments, the see-through area is surrounded by the opaquematerial only on the temporal side, the nasal side, and the inferiorside thereof.

In some embodiments, the see-through area extends to a top of thevision-control assembly.

In some embodiments, the opaque material comprises one or more firstventilation holes.

In some embodiments, the vision-control assembly comprises arear-extending opaque sidewall about at least the temporal side, thenasal side, and the inferior side of the see-through area.

In some embodiments, the sidewall is made of a soft material.

In some embodiments, the sidewall comprises a plurality of secondventilation holes.

In some embodiments, the see-through area comprises two see-throughregions about the user's eyes and separated by a portion of the opaquematerial.

In some embodiments, the vision-control assembly comprises a transparentmaterial covering the see-through area.

In some embodiments, the transparent material comprises one or morelens.

In some embodiments, the vision-control assembly comprises a transparentmaterial, a first portion of the transparent material covering thesee-through area and a second portion of the transparent material beingrendered opaque.

In some embodiments, the second portion of the transparent material isrendered opaque by gluing, staining, painting, or coupling thereto alayer of opaque material.

In some embodiments, the wearable training apparatus further comprises acoupling structure for coupling the wearable training apparatus to apair of eyeglasses.

In some embodiments, the wearable training apparatus further comprises ahead-mounting assembly coupled to the vision-control assembly forcoupling the vision-control assembly to the user's face.

In some embodiments, the head-mounting assembly comprises a flexibleband.

In some embodiments, the head-mounting assembly comprises a pair oftemple pieces.

According to one aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a systemfor training a user. The system comprises a wearable training apparatusdisclosed herein for being worn by the user; at least one imaging deviceconfigured for capturing images of the user wearing the wearabletraining apparatus; and at least one computing device in communicationwith the one or more imaging devices for tracking the user's motionusing the at least one imaging device.

According to one aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a wearabletraining apparatus. The wearable training apparatus comprises: avision-control assembly configured for engaging a user's face about theuser's eyes, said vision-control assembly comprising a lens frame havinga see-through area about the user's eyes and an opaque area surroundingthe see-through area at least on a temporal side, a nasal side, and aninferior side thereof. The opaque area is configured for substantiallyblocking the user's entire vision except at the see-through area; thesee-through area is configured for forming a reduced field of vision(FOV) about a gaze direction; and the reduced FOV has a horizontal spanencompassing at least a major portion of a natural binocular vision-areaof a natural FOV of human eyes, said natural binocular vision-area beingat an angular center of the natural FOV of human eyes.

In some embodiments, the wearable training apparatus further comprises aheadgear; wherein the vision-control assembly is attached to theheadgear.

In some embodiments, the headgear comprises a helmet body with a frontopening about the user's eyes and a protective fence covering the frontopening; and wherein the vision-control assembly is attached to insidethe helmet body.

In some embodiments, the headgear comprises a helmet body with a frontopening about the user's eyes and a protective fence covering the frontopening; and wherein the vision-control assembly is attached between thehelmet body and the protective fence.

In some embodiments, the wearable training apparatus further comprises:a display on an inner side of the lens frame overlapping with at leastone of the see-through area and the opaque area; and a control circuitryfunctionally coupled to the display for controlling the displaying ofthe display.

In some embodiments, the wearable training apparatus further comprises:at least one imaging device coupled to the lens frame.

In some embodiments, the lens frame comprises at least one see-throughdisplay, said see-though display is configured for rendering a centralportion thereof see-through for forming said see-through area and fordisplaying a dark color in a peripheral portion thereof surrounding thesee-through area for forming said opaque area.

In some embodiments, the wearable training apparatus further comprises:an input component; a control circuitry functionally coupled to theinput component and the at least one see-through display; the controlcircuitry configured for receiving user input from the input componentand adjusting the size and position of the see-through area of thesee-through display based on received user input.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a wearable training apparatusviewed from a front-viewing angle, according to one embodiment of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the wearable training apparatusshown in FIG. 1 viewed from a rear-viewing angle;

FIG. 3A is a front view of the wearable training apparatus shown in FIG.1 ;

FIG. 3B is a front view of the wearable training apparatus shown in FIG.1 , showing the dimension of the transparent regions thereof;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the wearable training apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the wearable training apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the wearable training apparatus shown in FIG.1 ;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the wearable training apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the wearable training apparatusalong the section line X-X shown in FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram showing the horizontal angular-span ofthe natural field of vision (FOV) of a pair of human eyes;

FIG. 9B is a simplified schematic diagram of FIG. 9A, showing thehorizontal angular-span of the natural FOV of the pair of human eyes;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the vertical angular-span of thenatural FOV of the pair of human eyes;

FIGS. 11A to 11C are schematic diagrams showing the horizontal spans ofa reduced FOV area of the pair of human eyes after wearing the wearabletraining apparatus shown in FIG. 1 , and an adjusted binocularvision-area of the reduced FOV area;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are simplified schematic diagrams showing thehorizontal spans of a reduced FOV area of the pair of human eyes afterwearing the wearable training apparatus shown in FIG. 1 , and anadjusted binocular vision-area of the reduced FOV area;

FIGS. 13A and 13B are schematic diagrams showing the reduced verticalFOV of the pair of human eyes after wearing the wearable trainingapparatus shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 14 is a front perspective view of a training apparatus viewed froma front-viewing angle, according to an alternative embodiment of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 15 is a rear perspective view of the training apparatus shown inFIG. 11 viewed from a rear-viewing angle;

FIG. 16A is a front view of the training apparatus shown in FIG. 14 ;

FIG. 16B is a front view of the training apparatus shown in FIG. 14 ,showing the dimension of the transparent regions thereof;

FIG. 17 is a rear view of the training apparatus shown in FIG. 14 ;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the training apparatus shown in FIG. 14, viewed from a top-front-viewing angle;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the training apparatus shown in FIG. 14, viewed from a bottom-front-viewing angle;

FIG. 20 is a side view of the training apparatus shown in FIG. 14 ,viewed from a first side thereof;

FIG. 21 is a side view of the training apparatus shown in FIG. 14 ,viewed from a second side thereof;

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the training apparatus along thesection line Y-Y shown in FIG. 18 ;

FIG. 23A is a front view of a training apparatus, according to anotherembodiment;

FIG. 23B is a front view of the training apparatus shown in FIG. 23A,showing the dimension of the transparent regions thereof;

FIG. 24A is a front view of a training apparatus, according to yetanother embodiment;

FIG. 24B is a front view of the training apparatus shown in FIG. 24A,showing the dimension of the transparent regions thereof;

FIG. 25 is a front perspective view of a wearable training apparatusviewed from a front-viewing angle, another embodiment of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 26 is a rear perspective view of the wearable training apparatusshown in FIG. 25 viewed from a rear-viewing angle;

FIG. 27A is a front view of the wearable training apparatus shown inFIG. 25 ;

FIG. 27B is a front view of the wearable training apparatus shown inFIG. 27 , showing the dimension of the transparent regions thereof;

FIG. 28 is a rear view of the wearable training apparatus shown in FIG.25 ;

FIG. 29 is a side view of the wearable training apparatus shown in FIG.25 , viewed from a first side thereof;

FIG. 30 is a side view of the wearable training apparatus shown in FIG.25 , viewed from a second side thereof;

FIG. 31 is a plan view of the wearable training apparatus shown in FIG.25 ;

FIG. 32 is a bottom view of the wearable training apparatus shown inFIG. 25 ;

FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram of a training system, according to stillanother embodiment;

FIG. 34A is a perspective view of a wearable training apparatus having ahelmet with a protective fence and a vision-control assembly, accordingto some embodiments of this disclosure, wherein the vision-controlassembly is coupled to an inner side of the helmet;

FIG. 34B is a perspective view of the wearable training apparatus shownin FIG. 34A without the protective fence;

FIG. 35A is a perspective view of a wearable training apparatus having ahelmet with a protective fence and a vision-control assembly, accordingto some embodiments of this disclosure, wherein the vision-controlassembly is coupled to the helmet between the helmet and the protectivefence;

FIG. 35B is a perspective view of the wearable training apparatus shownin FIG. 35A without the protective fence;

FIG. 36 is a perspective view of a wearable training apparatus having ahat and a vision-control assembly, according to some embodiments of thisdisclosure;

FIGS. 37 to 39 show a wearable training apparatus, according to someembodiments of this disclosure, wherein

FIG. 37 is a perspective view of the wearable training apparatus viewedfrom a front angle,

FIG. 38 is a perspective view of the wearable training apparatus viewedfrom a rear angle, and

FIG. 39 is a rear view of the wearable training apparatus;

FIG. 40 is a perspective view of a wearable training apparatus,according to yet some embodiments of this disclosure; and

FIG. 41 is a perspective view of a wearable training apparatus,according to still some embodiments of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments disclosed herein relate to an apparatus and a system fortraining a user to constantly focus on a moving object or a stationarytarget object and for improving the user's physical performance inexecuting controlled and coordinated body movements in reference to thetarget object.

Turning now to FIGS. 1 to 8 , a wearable training apparatus is shown andis generally identified using the reference numeral 100. The wearabletraining apparatus 100 is in the form of a pair of wearable eyeglassesand comprises a vision-control assembly 102 and a head-mounting assembly104.

The vision-control assembly 102 is configured for coupling to a user'sface about the user's eyes and comprises a lens frame 106, a pair oflens elements 108 secured in or otherwise coupled to the lens frame 106.The head-mounting assembly 104 comprises a pair of side arms or templepieces 110, each coupled to a respective side of the frame 106. In thisembodiment, each temple piece 110 is pivotable about a hinge (not shown)at a proximal end 112 thereof. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat, in an alternative embodiment, the temple pieces 110 may beintegrated with or otherwise fixed to the lens frame 106 and may not bepivotable.

The lens frame 106 is made of a suitable material such as rigid plastic,a resilient plastic, metal, and the like. The lens frame 106 in thisembodiment comprises two frame sections 114 each receiving therein alens element 108. A frame connector 116 forms a nose piece and connectsthe two frame sections 114.

The lens frame 106 also comprises a sidewall 120 extending rearwardlytherefrom. The sidewall 120 is made of a soft material such as afabric-wrapped sponge, rubber, and/or the like, and comprises an endsurface 124 for contacting a user's face about the user's eyes to blockthe user's side vision. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 , the sidewall 120 inthis embodiment has a similar profile as that of the lens frame 102, andcomprises two wall sections 122, each extending rearwardly from arespective frame section 112 about a respective lens element 104.

In this embodiment, the sidewall 120 has a suitable rearward-extensiondepth and/or the temple pieces 110 are have a suitable configurationsuch that a user may wear the wearable training apparatus 100 in amanner similar to wearing a pair of regular eyeglasses and the endsurface 124 of the sidewall 120 comfortably in contact with the user'sface blocking the user's side vision. As known in the art, when worn bya user, the vertex distance of a pair of regular eyeglasses, i.e., thedistance between the back surface of a lens of eyeglasses (spectacles),and the front of the cornea, is usually about 12 millimeters (mm) toabout 14 mm.

Unlike the lens elements of conventional glasses that are generallyentirely transparent or “see-through” for minimizing the blockage ofuser's vision, each lens element 104 in this embodiment comprises acentral aperture or transparent region 132 for “see-through”, and asurrounding, substantive opaque area 134 for blocking a user'speripheral vision. The central aperture 132 may be an opening oralternatively, may be made of a suitable transparent material. Herein,the terms “transparent” and “see-through” refer to the opticalcharacteristics of the central aperture or transparent region 132 thatallows a user's eye therebehind to observe objects in front thereofwithin a field of vision (FOV; also called visual field). In variousembodiments, the transparent material used herein may be a clearmaterial or alternatively, have one or more transparent shading colors.In some embodiments, the transparent material may also have the opticalcharacteristics suitable for vision correction such as for alleviatingnearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism.

The opaque area 134 of each lens element 104 is made of an opaquematerial. Alternatively, the opaque area 134 may be rendered opaque bygluing, staining, painting, or otherwise coupling thereto a layer ofopaque material.

The central transparent region 132 of each lens element 104 is locatedin front of a central vision-area of the respective eye of the user, andmay not necessarily be located at the geometrical center of the lenselement 104. As shown in FIG. 3B, in this embodiment, each centraltransparent region 132 has a rectangular shape with a dimension of about12 millimeters (mm) along a lateral direction by about 25 mm along alongitudinal direction. The two central transparent regions 132 are at adistance of about 46 mm measured from the nasal edges (towards the nose)thereof. The top of the two central transparent regions 132 aresubstantially flush with or slightly below the nose bridge 118.

As will be described in more detail later, when worn by a user, thewearable training apparatus 100 blocks at least a portion of aperipheral vision-area of the user's eyes to force the user to focus onone or more targets directly in front of a central area.

As defined in book entitled “Clinical Methods: The History, Physical,and Laboratory Examinations. 3rd edition,” by H Kenneth Walker, W DallasHall, and J Willis Hurst, published by Butterworths, 1990, “the field ofvision is that portion of space in which objects are visible at the samemoment during steady fixation of gaze in one direction.” In other words,the visual field or field of vision (FOV) of an eye or both eyes is thetotal area that can be seen when the eye or eyes are focused forward ona fixation point (i.e., the point at which the person's gaze isdirected). For ease of description, a reference line between each eyeand a fixation point at a sufficient distance is denoted as a gazedirection and is used for describing the FOV of human eyes.

FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram showing the horizontal angular-span ofthe natural (i.e., unblocked) FOV of a pair of human eyes 202L and 202R(collectively denoted as 202). Each eye 202L, 202R has a horizontal FOVspan 204L, 204R of about 95° temporally (i.e., outwardly towards thetemple) with respect to a gaze direction 206L, 206R, and of about 60°nasally (i.e., inwardly toward the nose) with respect to the gazedirection 206L, 206R, giving rise to a combined horizontal span ofnatural FOV of about 190° to about 220°.

The combined horizontal FOV may be partitioned to a central portion 208(denoted as a natural binocular vision-area) with an angular span ofabout 120° (i.e., 60° on each side) visible to both eyes 202L and 202Rand two side portions 210L and 201R (denoted as natural monocularvision-areas) only visible to one eye 202L, 202R, respectively.

The natural binocular vision-area 208 is important as the person mayobtain depth information of objects therein. A central portion 212 ofthe natural binocular vision-area 208 having an angular span of about60° (i.e., 30° on each side) is a horizontal area-of-focus.

The wearable training apparatus 100 disclosed herein is for trainingusers to focus on moving or stationary targets at a distance (such as ata distance of one (1) meter or further). Therefore, the natural FOV ofhuman eyes may be simplified as shown in FIG. 9B.

The vision accuracy is most accurate in the horizontal area-of-focus212, and gradually degrades towards the two temporal sides with themonocular vision-areas 210L and 201R being the least accuratevision-areas.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the vertical angular-span of thenatural FOV of human eyes 202. As shown, the vertical span 214 of thenatural FOV of a person's eyes is about 60° superiorly (i.e., upwardly)and about 70° inferiorly (i.e., downwardly) with respect to the gazedirection 206, thereby giving rise to a combined vertical span ofnatural FOV of about 130° to about 135°. The vertical span of naturalFOV may be partitioned into a central portion 216 as a verticalarea-of-focus and two vertical peripheral vision-areas 218 respectivelyabove and below the area-of-focus 216.

Similarly, the vision accuracy is most accurate in the verticalarea-of-focus 216, and gradually degrades towards the superior andinferior sides.

In many human activities, it is generally preferable to visually focuson moving or stationary targets in the more accurate vision-area than inthe less accurate vision-area. However, objects in less accuratevision-areas such as the monocular vision-areas 210L and 201R and thevertical peripheral vision-areas 218 may distract a person's attentionor focus during their activities.

On the other hand, it is also generally preferable to have asufficiently large visual field to allow the person sensing theenvironment around the moving targets or stationary targets, for bettertarget-tracking and better decision making.

Therefore, in various embodiments, the wearable training apparatus 100may comprise a see-through area (including the transparent regions 132)and a vision-blocking area (including the opaque area 134 and thesidewall 120). The see-through area is sized and positioned to allow auser to see through the wearable training apparatus 100 within a reducedFOV area about the gaze direction 206, and the vision-blocking areablocks the user's unwanted FOV areas peripheral to the reduced FOV area.In this way, the wearable training apparatus 100 provides a focusedvision (to exclude distractions) with a sufficiently large visual field(to provide sufficient environmental context). In a training event, thewearable training apparatus 100 may help a user thereof to move his/herhead and body to position one or more target objects into the reducedFOV area, thereby training the user to move his/her head and body toposition one or more target objects into the more accurate vision-areaseven without wearing the wearable training apparatus 100 in activities.The sizes of the reduced FOV area and the binocular vision-area thereof(denoted as an adjusted binocular vision-area; described in more detaillater) are important for these purposes.

As shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C, the horizontal spans of the reduced FOVarea and the adjusted binocular vision-area of the reduced FOV area aredetermined by the temporal and nasal edges of the transparent regions132 (i.e., the outer and inner edges thereof towards the temples and thenose, respectively).

FIG. 11A is a schematic plan view showing a user wearing the wearabletraining apparatus 100 and the horizontal span of the FOV in someembodiments. The temporal edge of each transparent region 132L/132Rlimits the temporal span of the corresponding eye 202L/202R to an angleslightly larger than 60° and the nasal edge thereof limits the nasalspan of the corresponding eye 202L/202R to an angle smaller than 60°.

Thus, the wearable training apparatus 100 provides a reduced FOV with ahorizontal span 232 being the union of the horizontal spans 232L and232R of the left and right transparent regions 132L and 132R, resultingin a horizontal span slightly greater than 120°. The reduced FOVencompasses the 120° natural binocular vision-area 208 and minorportions of the natural monocular vision-areas 210L and 210R on thenasal sides thereof. The major portions of the natural monocularvision-areas 210L and 210R on the temporal sides thereof are blocked.

The reduced FOV shown in FIG. 11A has a binocular area 234 determined bythe nasal edges of the transparent regions 132L and 132R andsubstantially encompasses the 60° horizontal area-of-focus 212. In theseembodiments, the binocular area 234 is substantially smaller than thehorizontal span 232 of the reduced FOV.

FIG. 11B is a schematic plan view showing a user wearing the wearabletraining apparatus 100 and the horizontal span of the FOV in some otherembodiments. The temporal edge of each transparent region 132L/132Rlimits the temporal span of the corresponding eye 202L/202R to an angleslightly smaller than 60° and the nasal edge thereof limits the nasalspan of the corresponding eye 202L/202R to an angle smaller than 60°.

Thus, the reduced FOV of the wearable training apparatus 100 has ahorizontal span 232 slightly smaller than 120° and encompassing a majorportion of the 120° natural binocular vision-area 208. A small portionof the natural binocular vision-area 208 on the temporal sides thereofand the natural monocular vision-areas 210L and 210R are blocked.

The reduced FOV shown in FIG. 11B has a binocular area 234 determined bythe nasal edges of the transparent regions 132L and 132R andsubstantially encompasses the 60° horizontal area-of-focus 212. In theseembodiments, the binocular area 234 is substantially smaller than thehorizontal span 232.

FIG. 11C is a schematic plan view showing a user wearing the wearabletraining apparatus 100 and the horizontal span of the FOV in yet someother embodiments. The temporal edge of each transparent region132L/132R limits the temporal span of the corresponding eye 202L/202R toan angle slightly smaller than 60°. However, the two transparent regions132L and 132R is separated by a sufficiently small opaque area 134A orthere is no opaque area 134A therebetween such that the nasal edges ofthe transparent regions 132L and 132R does not limit the nasal span ofthe corresponding eye 202L/202R, thereby resulting in a nasal span ofabout 60°.

Thus, the reduced FOV of the wearable training apparatus 100 has ahorizontal span 232 of about 120° (i.e., equal to the 120° naturalbinocular vision-area 208). The natural monocular vision-areas 210L and210R are blocked.

The reduced FOV shown in FIG. 11C has a binocular area 234 determined bythe temporal edges of the transparent regions 132L and 132R andsubstantially encompasses the 60° horizontal area-of-focus 212. In theseembodiments, the binocular area 234 is substantially the same as thehorizontal span 232.

The reduced FOV and the binocular area thereof may be simplified asshown in FIGS. 12A and 12B. In various embodiments, the horizontal span232 of the reduced FOV substantially may encompass at least a majorportion of the natural binocular vision-area, may exclude at least amajor portion of the monocular vision-areas, and may have a binoculararea 234 substantially encompassing the horizontal area-of-focus 212.

The wearable training apparatus 100 thus limits a user's FOV to avision-area about the gaze direction 206 and having about 60° angularspan.

In some embodiments, the horizontal span 232 of the reduced FOV may beabout 60° (i.e., about 30° on each temporal side). In some embodiments,the horizontal span 232 of the reduced FOV may be about 80° to about100° (i.e., about 40° to about 50° on each temporal side). In someembodiments, the horizontal span 232 of the reduced FOV may be about100° to about 140° (i.e., about 50° to about 70° on each temporal side).In some embodiments, the horizontal span 232 of the reduced FOV may beabout 110° to about 130° (i.e., about 55° to about 65° on each temporalside). In some embodiments, the horizontal span 232 of the reduced FOVmay be about 120° (i.e., about 60° on each temporal side).

In some embodiments, the adjusted binocular vision-area 234 of thereduced FOV has a horizontal span of at least about 40° (i.e., about 20°or greater on each temporal side). In some embodiments, the adjustedbinocular vision-area 234 of the reduced FOV has a horizontal span of atleast about 60° (i.e., about 30° or greater on each temporal side). Insome embodiments, the adjusted binocular vision-area 234 of the reducedFOV has a horizontal span of about 100° (i.e., about 50° or greater oneach temporal side). In some embodiments, the adjusted binocularvision-area 234 of the reduced FOV has a horizontal span substantiallythe same as the horizontal span 232 thereof.

In various embodiments, the reduced FOV of the wearable trainingapparatus 100 may have a reduced vertical span (determined by the upperand lower edges of the transparent regions 132) encompassing at least amajor portion of the vertical area-of-focus 216 and excluding at least amajor portion of the vertical peripheral vision-areas 218.

For example, in the embodiments shown in FIG. 13A, the reduced FOV ofthe wearable training apparatus 100 may have a vertical span of about35° to about 75° with a superior span of about 15° to about 35° and aninferior span of about 20° to about 40°.

In some embodiments, the reduced FOV of the wearable training apparatus100 may have a vertical span of about 55° with a superior span of about25° and an inferior span of about 30°.

In the embodiments shown in FIG. 13B, the reduced FOV of the wearabletraining apparatus 100 may have a vertical span of about 35° to about75° with a superior span of about 15° to about 35° and an inferior spanof about 20° to about 40°.

In the embodiments shown in FIG. 13C, the wearable training apparatus100 may not block the superior FOV. consequently, the reduced FOV of thewearable training apparatus 100 may have a vertical span of about 80° toabout 100° with a superior span of about 60° and an inferior span ofabout 20° to about 40°.

In some embodiments, the reduced FOV of the wearable training apparatus100 may have a vertical span of about 90° with a superior span of about60° and an inferior span of about 30°.

It is known in the art that the average pupillary distance (i.e., thehorizontal distance between the centers of the pupils) is about 62 mmfor women and about 64 mm for men. In the embodiments shown in FIG. 3B,the wearable training apparatus 100 may be worn in a manner similar toregular eyeglasses with the vertex distance of about 12 mm to about 14mm and with the eyes vertically at about the center of the transparentregions 132. Therefore, the reduced FOV of the wearable trainingapparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3B has a horizontal span of about 97° toabout 110° (about 48° to about 55° on each temporal side) with anadjusted binocular vision-area of about 58° to about 74° (about 29° toabout 37° on each temporal side), and a vertical span of about 46° toabout 54° (about 23° to about 27° upwardly and about 23° to about 27°downwardly).

In embodiments similar to that shown in FIG. 3B and with a deep sidewall120 that makes the vertex distance greater than 14 mm (such as 20 mm),the horizontal and vertical spans of the reduced FOV of the wearabletraining apparatus 100 may be smaller than above-described ranges,thereby resulting in a further reduced FOV about the fixation direction.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other embodiments arereadily available. For example, in an alternative embodiment, thetraining apparatus 100 comprises an eyeglasses portion and avision-restriction attachment attached thereto. The eyeglasses portionis the same as a pair of conventional eyeglasses, and comprises a lensframe 102, a pair of transparent lens elements 104 embedded in orotherwise coupled to the lens frame 102, and a pair of side arms ortemple pieces 106 each coupled to a respective side of the frame 102.

The vision-restriction attachment comprises a rigid base and a sidewall120 extending rearwardly therefrom. The rigid base comprises thetransparent regions 132 and the substantive opaque areas 134 (similar tothose shown in FIG. 1 ). The vision-restriction attachment alsocomprises a coupling structure for coupling to the eyeglasses portion bysuitable means such as clipping, gluing, screwing, and/or the like.

In another embodiment, the rigid base of the vision-restrictionattachment does not comprise the substantive opaque areas 134. Rather,the training apparatus 100 comprises a layer of opaque materialattachable to the lens elements 104 by suitable means such as gluing,taping, and/or the like, to form the opaque areas 134 and thetransparent regions 132.

FIGS. 14 to 22 show a wearable training apparatus 100 in an alternativeembodiment. The wearable training apparatus 100 in this embodiment is inthe form of a goggle and is similar to the wearable training apparatusshown in FIG. 1 . However, in this embodiment, the head-mountingassembly 103 does not comprise any temple pieces 106. Rather, thehead-mounting assembly 103 in this embodiment comprises a flexible band242 for coupling the training apparatus 100 to a user's head.

In this embodiment, the vision-control assembly 102 only comprises onetransparent region 132 extending longitudinally from one eye to theother, thereby eliminating the possibility that an opaque area betweenthe two eyes may block a portion of the FOV. Moreover, thevision-control assembly 102 does not comprise any lens element 108 andthe transparent region 132 is generally an opening.

As shown in FIG. 16B, the transparent region 132 has a longitudinallength of about 80 mm at a top side, and about 74 mm at a bottom side.The transparent region 132 has a lateral width of about 32 mm at the twotemporal edges 142. The wearable training apparatus 100 may be worn in amanner similar to regular eyeglasses with the vertex distance of about12 mm to about 14 mm and with the eyes vertically at about the center ofthe transparent regions 132. Therefore, the reduced FOV of the wearabletraining apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 16B has a horizontal span of about120° (about 60° on each temporal side) with an adjusted binocularvision-area of about 48° to about 66° (about 24° to about 33° on eachtemporal side), and a vertical span of about 96° to about 108° (about48° to about 54° upwardly and about 48° to about 54° downwardly).

In some embodiments, the superior FOV span may be different to theinferior FOV span. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 23A and23B, the wearable training apparatus 100 is similar to that shown inFIG. 3B. However, the wearable training apparatus 100 in this embodimenthas transparent regions 132 and opaque areas 134 arranged in a mannersuch that the superior FOV reduction of the wearable training apparatus100 is smaller than the inferior FOV reduction thereof.

In an alternative embodiment, while the vision-blocking areasubstantially blocks a user's vision therein, the vision-blocking areamay have one or more small transparent regions allowing light to passthrough as long as the overall size of the one or more small transparentregions is small and would not form a peripheral vision to interfere thevision in the see-through area. FIGS. 24A and 24B show an example. Inthis example, the opaque area 134 comprises a small transparent region252 at a corner thereof. However, the transparent region 252 is small insize and would not form a peripheral vision to interfere with the visionin the see-through area 132.

In an alternative embodiment shown in FIGS. 25 to 32 , the wearabletraining apparatus 100 is in the form of wearable goggles and comprisesa vision-control assembly 102 and a head-mounting assembly in the formof a flexible band (not shown).

The vision-control assembly 102 comprises a lens frame 106 made of asuitable material such as rigid plastic, resilient plastic, metal, andthe like. The lens frame 106 comprises two mounting holes 302 on thedistal sides thereof for mounting the flexible band to the lens frame106, a notch at an upper side thereof about the area of the user's twoeyes for forming a see-through area 132, and a nose piece 116.

The lens frame 106 also comprises a sidewall 120 extending rearwardlytherefrom about the edges thereof except around the see-through area132. The lens frame 106 including the sidewall 120 thus forms an opaquearea 134 for limiting the user's FOV through the see-through area 132.

In this embodiment, the lens frame 106 and the sidewall 120 alsocomprise a plurality of ventilation holes 304. Moreover, the see-througharea 132 extends to the top of the lens frame 106 with no sidewallthereabove. Such a “top-opened” see-through area 132 also facilitatesthe ventilation.

As shown in FIG. 27B, the see-through area 132 has a total longitudinallength of 90.5 mm and a lateral width of 18.38 mm. The nose piece 116 isat the longitudinal center of the see through area 132 and the topthereof is 12.13 mm to the bottom edge of the see-through area 132.

The wearable training apparatus 100 may be worn in a manner similar toregular eyeglasses with the vertex distance of about 12 mm to about 14mm and with the pupils substantially vertically flush with the top ofthe nose piece 116. Therefore, the reduced FOV of the wearable trainingapparatus 100 shown in FIG. 27B has a horizontal span of about 120°(about 60° on each temporal side) with an adjusted binocular vision-areaof about 48° to about 100° (about 24° to about 50° on each temporalside).

As the see-through area 132 extends to the top of the lens frame 106with no sidewall thereabove, the superior span of the reduced FOV is thesame as the natural superior span of the human eye's FOV, i.e., about60°. The inferior span of the reduced FOV is about 45° to about 54°,resulting in a vertical span of about 105° to about 114°.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above embodiments andthe sizes and/or locations of the see-through area 132 described thereinare examples only. In various embodiments, the wearable trainingapparatus 100 and the see-through area 132 thereof may choose otherparameters to adapt to the user's eye parameters such as the vertexdistance, the pupillary distance, and/or the like. For example, thewearable training apparatus 100 in some embodiments may have a pluralityof predetermined sizes for adapting to different people. The wearabletraining apparatus 100 in some other embodiments may be customizablebased on the user's eye parameters.

As described above, the wearable training apparatus 100 provides areduced FOV about the gaze direction through the see-through area 132.The reduced FOV area substantially encompasses the natural binocularvision-area of human eyes with an adjusted binocular vision-areasubstantially encompassing the area-of-focus of human eyes. The naturalmonocular vision-area of human eyes are blocked by the opaque area 134of the wearable training apparatus 100.

Compared to the natural monocular vision-area, the natural binocularvision-area of human eyes provides better visual contact with objectstherewithin with important depth information. The area-of-focus of humaneyes provides the most visual details of objects therewithin andattracts the most focused attention of the person.

The horizontal and vertical angular span of the reduced FOV areimportant. A large horizontal span that encompasses a substantialportion of the natural monocular vision-area may introduce overwhelmeddistraction to the user and may allow the user to maintain a targetobject in the natural monocular vision-area, thereby causing thetraining to fail. On the other hand, a small horizontal and/or verticalspan leads to a so-called tunnel vision and the user may not sensesufficient environment context and/or may constant lose visual contactwith the one or more target objects.

When a user wears the wearable training apparatus 100 in training, theuser is forced to move his/her body and head to maintain visual contactwith one or more target objects. As a result, the user is trained tomaintain the one or more target objects within the natural binocularvision-area and more importantly within the area-of-focus.

The wearable training apparatus 100 restricts peripheral vision anddisallows eyes to look down in the bottom of their sockets.Consequently, the user's eyes are maintained in the middle of theirsockets which allows the eyes to operate (such as converge and diverge)at their maximum capacity. The wearable training apparatus 100 creates acentral vision which ensures a high quality of visual stimulus receivedfrom the eyes and allows the brain to obtain the best information of theobjects being tracked, thereby forming an improved reaction towards thetracked objects.

Therefore, using the wearable training apparatus 100 facilitates theestablishment of physical reaction including movement of the head, body,and the entire human stimulus system, the mental reaction, and therelated neurological processes, thereby training the user to manage thecentral vision through moving the head and body, maintaining balance,managing head and body movements in reacting towards the trackedobjects, and thereby creating an improved constant visualization of theobjects.

By using the wearable training apparatus 100, the user is trained tocognitively react to tracked objects with cooperative mental andphysical actions. Once the user's mental and muscle reactions arememorized and become subconscious reactions, the user may practicewithout wearing the wearable training apparatus 100 and react to trackedobjects in real-time with simplified, more reliable actions. Such amotion-reaction memory in combination with technical training (i.e.,training of motion techniques) may greatly improve the user's practicein various areas such as sports (e.g., ice hockey, golf, horse riding,flying, and the like), military actions, machine operation, and thelike.

FIG. 33 is a schematic view of a training system 330 according to oneembodiment of this disclosure. The training system 330 comprises atleast one wearable training apparatus 100 worn by a user 332, at leastone imaging device 334 such as a camcorder functionally coupled to andin communication with at least one computing device 336 via at least onesuitable wired or wireless connection 338 such as Ethernet, serialcable, parallel cable, USB cable, HDMI® cable (HDMI is a registeredtrademark of HDMI Licensing LLC, San Jose, Calif., USA), WI-FI® (WI-FIis a registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance, Austin, Tex., USA),BLUETOOTH® (BLUETOOTH is a registered trademark of Bluetooth Sig. Inc.,Kirkland, Wash., USA), ZIGBEE® (ZIGBEE is a registered trademark ofZigBee Alliance Corp., San Ramon, Calif., USA), 3G or 4G wirelesstelecommunications, and/or the like.

The user 332 wearing the training apparatus 100 is in training to focuson an object 340. For example, the user may be a golfer and the objectis a golf ball. A trainer (not shown) may use the methods and systemsdisclosed herein to train the user 332 to maintain eye contact with thegolf ball 340 while executing coordinated movements of their torso,arms, and legs to hit the golf ball 340.

As the user 332 can only see the golf ball 340 via the see-through areaof the training apparatus 100, the user 332 is able to learn how toproperly position his head and body to maintain the golf ball 340 withina central portion of the user's FOV during the processes of addressingand striking the golf ball 340. For example, the user will learn to keeptheir head in a still fixed position to maintain focused eye contactwith the ball while they are rotating their torso and arms during theback swing and forward swing movements. The imaging device 334 recordsthe user's actions during their execution of golf swings and sends therecorded images or video streams to the computing device 336 for replayor for analysis.

In some embodiments, the computing device 336 executes a softwareprogram for tracking the user's motion using the at least one imagingdevice 334. In some embodiments, the computing device 336 may furtherexecute a software program for processing the recorded images and/orvideo streams in reference to one or more selected sets of trainingimages and/or video clips to produce feed-back images and/or videoclips, to analyze the user's motion, and to establish, maintain, andexpand individualized database records of training sessions.

Once the user has learned how to properly position his head and body tomaintain the golf ball 504 within a central portion of the user's FOV,the user can play golf without wearing the training apparatus, and stillbe able to keep the golf ball in focused view in the trained manner.

In an alternative embodiment, the system 100 may not comprise acomputing device 336.

In an alternative embodiment, the system 100 may not comprise a displayfor playback the recorded images and/or video streams.

Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the abovedescribed training apparatus 100 and system 330 are not restricted totraining golfers. In various embodiments, the above described trainingapparatus 100 and system 330 may be used to train athletes in othersports areas such as hockey player, tennis players, basketball player,soccer players, and/or the like, workers, police officers, militarypersonnel, rescue crews, and the like in various tasks. Generally, theabove described training apparatus 100 and system 330 may be used totrain people in various areas who need eye/hand or vision/handcoordination, eye/body or vision/body coordination, and/or the like tofocus on, act on, and/or react on one or more moving targets such as agolf ball, a puck, a tennis ball, a basketball, a soccer ball, and/orthe like.

Correspondingly, in various embodiments, the computing device 336 maycomprise a database storing training images and/or video clips forselected sports and sports activities such as golf, hockey, tennis,basketball, soccer, and/or the like. The database may also oralternatively store training images and/or video clips for selectedworkplace equipment such as stick shifts, machinery, military weapons,and/or the like.

FIG. 34A shows a wearable training apparatus 400 in some embodiments. Asshown, the wearable training apparatus 400 in these embodimentscomprises a headgear 402 in the form of a helmet such as an ice hockeygoalie mask. The headgear 402 comprises a helmet body 404 for wearing ona user's head with a front opening 406 about a user's face areaincluding the area about the user's eyes. The headgear 402 alsocomprises a protective fence 408 covering or overlaying with the frontopening 406 without significantly blocking or interfering the user'svision.

As also shown in FIG. 34B, the wearable training apparatus 400 alsocomprises a vision-control assembly 102 similar to that described inabove embodiments and demountably attached inside the helmet 402 aboutthe user's eyes. The vision-control assembly 102 is located at adistance to the user's eyes as described above (e.g., with the vertexdistance of about 12 mm to about 14 mm) and has at least a sidewall (notshown) extending rearwardly from a bottom side of the lens frame 106thereof. Thus, when worn by a user, the wearable training apparatus 400provides a reduced FOV. The portion of the natural FOV of human eyesoutside the reduced FOV is blocked.

Similar to the description above, the reduced FOV may correspond to acentral portion of the human FOV. For example, in some embodiments, thereduced FOV may have a horizontal span encompassing at least a majorportion of a natural binocular vision-area of the natural FOV of humaneyes and/or have a vertical span encompassing at least a major portionof a vertical area-of-focus of the natural FOV of human eyes. In someembodiments, the reduced FOV may further encompass a minor portion ofnatural monocular vision-areas of the natural FOV of human eyes.

For example, in some embodiments, the reduced FOV may have a horizontalspan of about 120° (about 60° on each temporal side) with an adjustedbinocular vision-area of about 48° to about 100° (about 24° to about 50°on each temporal side). In some embodiments, the vertical span of thereduced FOV may have an inferior span of about 20° to about 40°. In someembodiments, the vertical span of the reduced FOV may have an inferiorspan of about 30°.

In some embodiments, the vision-control assembly 102 may be permanentlyattached inside the helmet 402 about the user's eyes and be anintegrated part of the helmet 402.

FIGS. 35A and 35B show a wearable training apparatus 400 in somealternative embodiments. The wearable training apparatus 400 in theseembodiments is similar to that shown in FIGS. 34A and 34B except that inthese embodiments, the vision-control assembly 102 is demountablyattached outside the helmet 402 about the user's eyes between the helmet402 and the fence 408.

In some embodiments, the vision-control assembly 102 may be permanentlyattached outside the helmet 402 about the user's eyes and be anintegrated part of the helmet 402.

While it may be possible to convert the fence 408 into a vision-controlassembly (i.e., a vision-limited fence) by attaching a suitable opaquematerial thereto about the user's eyes, the resulting vision-limitedfence 408 may not provide sufficient peripheral-vision blocking.Specifically, as the vision-limited fence 408 is generally at a greaterdistance to the user's face, there may be an excessively large vertexdistance between the vision-limited fence 408 and the user's eyes suchthat ambient light from top directions may be deflected into user's eyesfrom locations therebelow thereby causing some residue peripheral visionwhich may interfere with the user's exercise of focused visual trackingof moving or stationary objects.

FIG. 36 shows a wearable training apparatus 400 in some alternativeembodiments. The wearable training apparatus 400 in these embodimentscomprises a helmet 422 in the form of a hat such as a baseball hat or agolfer's hat, with a vision-control assembly 102 coupled thereto. Insome embodiments, the vision-control assembly 102 may be demountablycoupled to the hat 422. In some other embodiments, the vision-controlassembly 102 may be permanently coupled to the hat 422 and become anintegrated portion thereof.

FIGS. 37 to 39 show a vision-control assembly 102 which may be directlywearable, or attached to a helmet or hat, or being an integrated portionthereof, according to some embodiments of this disclosure. Thevision-control assembly 102 is similar to that shown in FIGS. 25 to 32except that the vision-control assembly 102 in these embodiments furthercomprises an imaging device 442 such as a video camera attached thereto,a display or screen 444 on the inner side of the opaque area 134thereof, and necessary circuitry (not shown) connecting the imagingdevice 442 and the display 444.

The circuitry also comprises a wired or wireless communication modulefor communicating with a computing device such as the computing device336 of the training system 330 shown in FIG. 33 , for sending the imagescaptured by the imaging device 442 and for receiving information (e.g.,text and/or images) for displaying on the display 444. Therefore, thevision-control assembly 102 may be used in the training system 330 withthe imaging device 442 on the vision-control assembly 102 substitutingthe imaging device 334 or as a supplementary thereto for evaluating theperformance of the user 332.

In some embodiments, the vision-control assembly 102 may only comprise adisplay 444 on the inner side of the opaque area 134 thereof and may notcomprise any imaging device 442 attached thereto.

In some embodiments wherein the transparent region 132 has a lens(rather than merely an opening), the display 444 may be a “see-through”display in the transparent region 132. Such a display 444 may be asee-through liquid crystal display (LCD), a see-through light-emittingdiode (LED) display, a micro-projector, or other suitable displays.

FIGS. 40 and 41 show a wearable training apparatus 100 in some otherembodiments. The wearable training apparatus 100 is in the form of anAugmented Reality (AR) goggle and comprises a vision control assembly102 and a head-mounting assembly 104 in the form of a strap. The visioncontrol assembly 102 comprises a lens frame 106 and a sidewall 120extending rearwardly from the peripheral of the lens frame 106 forengaging a user's face and blocking the user's peripheral view otherwisevisible through the gap between the lens frame 106 and the user's face.

The lens frame 106 comprise a lens element 108 and a control circuitry(not shown). The lens element 108 in these embodiments is a see-thoughdisplay such as a see-through LCD, a see-through LED display, or thelike. In use, the control circuitry controls the lens element 108 todisplay a dark color in a peripheral area 134 thereof to render it anopaque area and render a central area 132 substantively transparent. Thesize and location of the see-through central area 132 is generally thesame as the transparent region described above to restrict the user'sFOV to an above-described reduced FOV.

As shown in FIG. 41 , the wearable training apparatus 100 may alsoprovide an adjustment mechanism such as a set of buttons 482 for theuser to adjust the size and position of the transparent region 132 toadapt to the user's eyes such as adapting the user's specific pupillarydistance and vertex distance when wearing the wearable trainingapparatus 100 for achieving desired training results.

In some embodiments, the lens element 108 is a touch-sensitive displaywith the front surface thereof being touch-sensitive thereby allowingthe user to adjust the size and position of the transparent region 132in a more intuitive manner through touch inputs.

In some embodiments, the control circuitry may also control the lenselement 108 to display relevant information as text and/or images on thelens element 108 overlying with the transparent region 132 and/or theopaque area 134.

In some embodiments, the control circuitry may further communicate witha computing device such as the computing device 336 in the trainingsystem 330 shown in FIG. 33 to receive data therefrom for displaying onthe lens element 108. In some other embodiments, the wearable trainingapparatus 100 may further comprise an imaging device similar to thatshown in FIGS. 37 to 39 .

Although in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 40 and 41 , the wearabletraining apparatus 100 only comprises one lens element 108, in somealternative embodiments, the wearable training apparatus 100 maycomprise two or more lens elements 108 configured in a manner similar tothat shown in FIG. 1 .

Although embodiments have been described above with reference to theaccompanying drawings, those of skill in the art will appreciate thatvariations and modifications may be made without departing from thescope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wearable training apparatus comprising: avision-control assembly for engaging a user's face about the user'seyes, said vision-control assembly comprising a see-through area aboutthe user's eyes and an opaque area surrounding the see-through area atleast on a temporal side and an inferior side thereof; wherein theopaque area is for substantially blocking at least major portions of thenatural monocular vision-areas of a natural field of vision (FOV) of theuser's eyes, said natural monocular vision-areas being peripheral to anatural binocular vision-area on respectively temporal sides; whereinthe see-through area is for forming a reduced FOV about a gazedirection; wherein the reduced FOV has a horizontal span encompassing atleast a major portion of the natural binocular vision-area of thenatural FOV of the user's eyes about the gaze direction thereof, saidnatural binocular vision-area being at an angular center of the naturalFOV; and wherein the vision-control assembly comprises a rear-extendingopaque sidewall about at least the temporal side, the nasal side, andthe inferior side of the see-through area; and wherein the sidewall ismade of a soft material.
 2. The wearable training apparatus of claim 1further comprising a headgear; wherein the vision-control assembly iscoupled to the headgear.
 3. The wearable training apparatus of claim 2,wherein the headgear comprises a helmet body with a front opening aboutthe user's eyes and a protective fence covering the front opening; andwherein the vision-control assembly is coupled to inside the helmet bodyor between the helmet body and the protective fence.
 4. The wearabletraining apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: a display on an innerside of a lens frame overlapping with at least one of the see-througharea and the opaque area; and a control circuitry functionally coupledto the display for controlling the displaying of the display.
 5. Thewearable training apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lens frame comprisesat least one see-through display, said see-though display is forrendering a central portion thereof see-through for forming saidsee-through area and for displaying a dark color in a peripheral portionthereof surrounding the see-through area for forming said opaque area.6. The wearable training apparatus of claim 5 further comprising: aninput component; a control circuitry functionally coupled to the inputcomponent and the at least one see-through display for receiving userinput from the input component and adjusting the size and position ofthe see-through area of the see-through display based on received userinput.
 7. The wearable training apparatus of claim 1, wherein the opaquearea comprises one or more first ventilation holes.
 8. The wearabletraining apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sidewall comprises aplurality of second ventilation holes.
 9. The wearable trainingapparatus of claim 1 further comprising a coupling structure forcoupling the wearable training apparatus to a pair of eyeglasses, or ahead-mounting assembly for coupling the wearable training apparatus tothe user's face.
 10. The wearable training apparatus of claim 1, whereinat least one of the vision-control assembly and the head-mountingassembly is for coupling the vison-control assembly to the user's faceabout the user's eyes with a vertex distance of about 12 millimeters(mm) to about 14 mm, said vertex distance being a distance between arear-end of the see-through area and the front of the cornea of theeyes.
 11. A system for training a user comprising: a wearable trainingapparatus of claim 1, for being worn by the user; at least one imagingdevice for capturing images of the user wearing the wearable trainingapparatus; and a computing device in communication with the at least oneimaging device for tracking the user's motion using the at least oneimaging device.
 12. A system for training a user comprising: a wearabletraining apparatus of claim 4, for being worn by the user; at least oneimaging device for capturing images of the user wearing the wearabletraining apparatus; and a computing device in communication with the atleast one imaging device for tracking the user's motion using the atleast one imaging device.
 13. The wearable training apparatus of claim1, wherein the opaque area is for substantially blocking at least themajor portions of the natural monocular vision-areas of a natural FOV ofthe user's eyes on the temporal sides thereof and on the bottom sidethereof.
 14. The wearable training apparatus of claim 1, wherein thereduced FOV encompasses the entire natural binocular vision-area of thenatural FOV of the user's eyes.
 15. The wearable training apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein the reduced FOV further encompasses a minor portion ofnatural monocular vision-areas of the natural FOV of the user's eyes.16. The wearable training apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reduced FOVis about 120° with about 60° on each temporal side; about 60° with about30° on each temporal side; about 80° to about 100° with about 40° toabout 50° on each temporal side; about 100° to about 140° with about 50°to about 70° on each temporal side; or about 110° to about 130° withabout 55° to about 65° on each temporal side.
 17. The wearable trainingapparatus of claim 1, wherein the reduced FOV comprises an adjustedbinocular vision-area substantially encompassing a horizontalarea-of-focus of the natural FOV of the user's eyes; and wherein theadjusted binocular vision-area has a horizontal span of about 40° toabout 60° with about 20° to 30° on each temporal side; of at least about60° with at least about 30° on each temporal side; or of about 100° withabout 50° on each temporal side.
 18. The wearable training apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the reduced FOV has a vertical span encompassing atleast a major portion of a vertical area-of-focus of the natural FOV ofthe user's eyes.
 19. The wearable training apparatus of claim 18,wherein the vertical span of the reduced FOV is about 35° to about 75°with a superior span of about 15° to about 35° and an inferior span ofabout 20° to about 40°; wherein the vertical span of the reduced FOV isabout 55° with a superior span of about 25° and an inferior span ofabout 30°; wherein the vertical span of the reduced FOV is about 35° toabout 75° with a superior span of about 15° to about 35° and an inferiorspan of about 20° to about 40°; wherein the vertical span of the reducedFOV is about 80° to about 100° with a superior span of about 60° and aninferior span of about 20° to about 40°; or wherein the vertical span ofthe reduced FOV is about 90° with a superior span of about 60° and aninferior span of about 30°.